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Suarez handed biggest ever World Cup ban

John Bagratuni

Uruguay striker Luis Suarez is out of the World Cup after being handed a nine-match ban by FIFA for biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini.

Soccer's governing body said on Thursday that Suarez is also banned from any football-related activity or from entering any football stadium for four months, meaning the Liverpool striker will miss the start of the Premier League and the Champions League season.

It is the biggest match ban ever imposed by FIFA at a World Cup and follows similar incidents involving Suarez.

He will not only miss Uruguay's remaining World Cup matches, starting with Saturday's round of 16 clash against Colombia, but also potentially all the 2015 Copa America matches in Chile. Uruguay are the defending champions.

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Having been stripped of his World Cup accreditation, FIFA ordered Suarez out of the Uruguayan team's hotel, as his team-mates travelled to Rio de Janeiro for their next match.

Suarez boarded a private plane in Natal with his wife, two children and an official of the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF).

FIFA had opened disciplinary proceedings against the star striker after an incident involving Chiellini in Natal on Tuesday.

In the 79th minute, Suarez pushed his head towards Chiellini in the penalty area. The infringement was not noticed by the referee at the time, but television footage showed him biting the defender's left shoulder.

Suarez breached two articles of the FIFA relating to assault and unsporting behaviour towards another player, FIFA said.

"The player Luis Suarez is to be suspended for nine official matches," it said.

"The first match of this suspension is to be served in the upcoming FIFA World Cup fixture between Colombia and Uruguay on 28 June 2014.

"The Disciplinary Committee took into account all the factors of the case and the degree of Mr Suarez's guilt in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Code."

Disciplinary committee chairman Claudio Sulser said in the statement: "Such behaviour cannot be tolerated on any football pitch, and in particular not at a FIFA World Cup when the eyes of millions of people are on the stars on the field."

Uruguay said through their lawyer, Jorge Barrera, that they will appeal the ban on Suarez, who has already served two lengthy suspensions for biting opponents while playing at club level.

But an appeal will not lead to a provisional lifting of the ban, FIFA spokeswoman Delia Fischer said, citing the disciplinary code.

After the four-month period of suspension is served, Suarez would be able to play in friendly matches but not competitive national team games if he has not completed the nine-match ban.

Suarez "is prohibited from entering the confines of any stadium in which the representative team of Uruguay is playing while he has to serve the nine-match suspension," FIFA said.

Suarez has also been fined 100,000 Swiss francs ($A121,179).

It is not the first time Suarez has engaged in such behaviour.

He was banned for 10 games for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic in a Premier League match in April 2013, and also for seven games for biting PSV Eindhoven midfielder Otman Bakkal on the shoulder while Ajax captain, in 2010.

In England, where he was last season's Premier League top scorer and voted player of the year, he also served an eight-game ban after being found guilty by the Football Association of racially abusing United's Patrice Evra in an incident in October 2011, a charge he always denied.

His club side Liverpool, who cannot appeal the ruling, did not want to comment until they had received the full verdict.

"Liverpool Football Club will wait until we have seen and had time to review the FIFA Disciplinary Committee report before making any further comment," chief executive Ian Ayre said.